Fastening devices



NV- 26, 1957 H. PEsELNlcK 2,814,085

FASTENING DEVICES Filed June 25. 1954 l N V E N TOR 17e/waan Pemelnz'r Eff/QW M /7/3 ATTORNEY Unite States Patent r FASTENING DEVICES Herman Peselnick, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application June 25, 1954, Serial No. 439,374

3 Claims. (Cl. 24-140) This invention relates to a fastener, and more particularly to a device for quickly and conveniently opening a pair of separable portions in a shoe or the like, along adjacent inner edges thereof, without necessarily using hands for this operation.

A number of fasteners have been devised to speed up the fastening and unfastening of shoes, at the same time creating the illusion that the shoe is fastened in the usual manner. However, while these prior art devices simplify the above operation, they require the use of hands and are therefore not practical for handicapped persons. My invention overcomes the disadvantages of such known fasteners by the provision of a structure which may be operated by the other foot or by abutting a portion thereof against a rigid object, such as the leg of a chair or the like.

My invention further provides a fastener which is sufliciently hidden by the lace while at the same time creating the illusion of having a normally laced shoe or the like.

Several other features and advantages of my improved fastener will become apparent and will be pointed out in the following detailed description of some preferred embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, and the invention will be finally pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a top view showing my fastener mounted in a shoe, in closed position;

Fig. 2 shows a portion of a slightly different shoe, with the fastener in open position and integral with the tops of the shoe;

Fig. 3 illustrates the fastener of Fig. 2 in open position before being mounted in a shoe;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged partial view of the fastener of Fig. 1, showing a different form of a lock to retain the device in locked position; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of the fastener of Fig. 1.

Similar characters of reference refer to identical elements throughout the various views in the drawing.

Referring now in more detail to the illustrated embodiments, and more particularly to Figs. 1, 4 and 5 there is shown a shoe having two top flaps 11 and 12 provided at their adjoining edges with a number of equally spaced eyelets 13. Lacing 14 is introduced through eyelets 13 and through apertures 9a in preferably U-shaped members 15 and 16, said members 15 and 16 forming part of my novel fastening device. As shown, the lacing is introduced in zig-zag form and when the shoe is fastened, the impression of crossalacing is given, the fastener being barely visible, especially when being of the same color as the shoe and the lace.

Members 15 and 16 are hinged close to the bottom eyelets 13a and are held in transverse connecting bar 17, as better seen in Fig. 5, which is hooked or otherwise held in the bottom eyelets 13a in each shoe top. The transverse bar 17 is preferably inserted below the lace so as to be hidden from view.

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The upper end of member 16 has hinged thereto two short elements 18 and 19. Element 18 is mounted below element 19 and has its end portion 18a turned upwardly so as to engage element 19 and cause its pivoting movement in direction of arrow A when it is pivoted in a direction to fasten the shoe. The uppermost end 16a of member 16 is also slightly bent upwardly so as to form a catch or lock 21 for element 19 when the same is sufficiently pivoted and slid thereover, Element 19 is connected to the upper end of member 15 by a short piece of wire 20, preferably bent in a manner to hide it from view when element 19 has been pivoted into its extreme position in direction of arrow A.

As shown, elements 18 and 19 are preferably coated with the shoe lace or a similar material so as to create the impression of a loop 22 when brought into locked position. A similar loop 23 is shown at the upper end of member 15.

When the foot is slid into the open shoe, the tops are apart as shown in Fig. 2. It may be seen here that the front ends of aps 111 and 112 are stitched to the vamp, whereas in Fig. l the front ends of flaps 11, 12 are free. To lock the tops, the user simply exerts pressure on element 18 and pushes it in the direction of arrow A sufficiently to let element 19 and wire 20 slide over catch 21 and to thereby fasten the shoe. Wire 20 may be bent so as to slide beneath element 18 when suiciently pivoted to lock the shoe. The unfastening of the shoe requires the reverse of the above-described operation.

Elements 18 and 19 are pivotable to some extent with respect to each other for the reason to change the shape of the loop 22 formed by the lace coating. The loop may be oval, rounded or quite ilat, depending on the taste of user and the shape of loop 23 at the upper end of member 15.

The material used for my novel fastener is preferably metal painted to a color similar to that of the lace or of the shoe leather. However, a suitable plastic material may also be used.

The catch 21 may be made, as described hereinabove, by simply bending the uppermost end 16a of member 16 upwardly, but many other methods of securing elements 19 and 20 in locking position may be used. For example, the end of member 16 may be studded from below, as shown in Fig. 4. The projection 24 is not too high so as to permit sliding of element 19 thereover, but prevents the unfastening of the shoe without exerting certain pressure on element 18 in opposite direction.

While the invention has been described in connection with its application to a shoe, it is understood that it may be employed for various other purposes, such as in straps for artificial limbs, for corsets and the like. Also, the device may be applied to a full-size or half shoe, or only to the upper portion of the tops in a full-size shoe.

It is further possible to attach members 11S and 116 to adjoining sides of tops 111 and 112 so as to make the fastener integral with the shoe, as shown in Fig. 2. In such case, the two members and 116 do not have to be connected to each other, and the transverse element 117 that retains the lowermost eyelets 13a in tops 111 and 112 at a desired distance, may also be admitted. Also, because members 115 and 116 are secured to tops 111 and 112, the recesses 9 replace apertures 9a therein, providing seats for the lace wound therearound.

While it is believed that the above description of my invention is amply suicient to enable men skilled in the art to take full advantage thereof, I desire it to be understood that my invention is not limited thereto but only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with an artiele having a pair of separable portions provided with substantially aligned 3, apertures along adjacent edges thereof, a fastening device consisting of a pair of elongated members pivotally connected at one extremity thereof, a transverse element connecting said pivotally connected extremities of said elongated members with the respective extreme apertures in said separable portions, there being a plurality of openings in said elongated members in substantial alignment with said apertures in said separable portions, a first and a second locking member pivotally connected Ito the other extremity of one of said elongated members, said first locking member engaging said second locking member for at least partial pivotal movement therewith, a connection between said second locking member and the other extremity of the other of said elongated members, a projection at said other extremity of said one elongated member, and a length of lace introduced into said apertures and said openings for connecting said one elongated member to one of said separable portions and said other elongated member to the other of said separable portions, said lace forming a loop at each of said other extremities of said elongated members, one of said loops embodying said first and said second locking members for camouflaging the same, whereby, on pivoting of said first locking mem ber together with said second locking member and said connection, said second locking member is urged against and over said projection to alternately fasten or release said separable portions.

2. In combination with an article having a pair of separable portions provided with substantially aligned apertures along adjacent edges thereof, a fastening device consisting of a pair of elongated members pivotally connected at one extremity thereof, said elongated members extending substantially the length of and being attached to said adjacent edges of said separable portions, there being a plurality of recesses in said elongated members in substantial alignment with said apertures in said separable portions, a first and a second locking member pivotally connected to the other extremity of one of said elongated members, said first locking member engaging said second locking member for at least partial pivotal movement therewith, a connection between said second locking member and the other extremity of the other of said elongated members, a projection at the other extremity of said one elongated member, and a length of lace introduced into said apertures and said recesses, said lace forming a loop at each of said other extremities of said elongated members, one of said loops embodying said first and said second locking members to camouflage lthe same, whereby on deformations of said loop, said second locking member is alternately slidable over said projection -to lock or unlock said fastening device.

3. In combination with an article having a pair of separable portions with substantially aligned apertures along the adjacent edges thereof, a pair of elongated members of a length substantially equal to the length of said adjacent edges of said separable portions and attached thereto, said elongated members being hinged together at one extremity thereof and secured to the respective extreme apertures in said separable portions, a first and a second locking member at substantially the other extremity of one of said elongated members, said first locking member engaging said second locking member for at least partial pivotal movement therewith, a projection at the said other extremity of said one elongated member, a pivotable connection between the other extremity of the other of said elongated members and said second locking member, and a length of lace introduced into said apertures in said separable portions with said elongated members at least partially Within the windings of said lace, said lace forming a loop at each of said other extremities of said elongated members, one of said loops embodying said rst and said second locking members for camouflaging the same, whereby, on pivoting of said locking members and said connection, said second locking member is slidable against and over said projection to lock or release said separable portions of said shoe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 762,822 Hanger lune 14, 1904 FOREIGN PATENTS 8,837 Great Britain 1911 109,956 Australia Feb. 28, 1940 805,263 France Aug. 22, 1936 

